What We Do

The Scottish Lime Centre Trust (SLCT) was established in 1994 as a ‘not for profit’ organisation registered as a charity in Scotland in response to growing concern
over the shortage of skills and understanding in the field of
traditional building technology. Our essential aims are to promote and
encourage the appropriate repair of traditional buildings, and to
conserve and develop the associated building traditions, crafts and
skills through training and education.

The catalyst for our creation was the rising concern for the effects of using ordinary Portland cement on historic masonry buildings. Over the past 150 years or so, since the introduction of cement, the lime industry in the UK has dwindled and the cement industry boomed with cement technology developing to produce harder and stronger material. Don't get us wrong, we think modern cement is a great product, it should just never go anywhere near a historic masonry structure!

The increased use of cement in the construction industry resulted in the loss of knowledge and skills required to correctly and appropriately specify and use lime mortars. Through the later part of last century we increasingly saw the damage that was being caused by overly hard cement mortars, but the products, knowledge and skills were not available to transition back to the use of lime mortars, and this is where we come in. In 1994 our organisation was established to bridge this gap and to bring back the understanding and skill required to successfully use lime mortars. Our remit has developed over the years and, still speciallists in lime mortar use and technology, we have a broader scope of providing advice, guidance and training relating to all aspects of traditional building technology.

Our aims and objectives:

To promote for the public benefit the appropriate repair of traditional and historic buildings both nationally and internationally;

To advance education through the provision of advice, training and practical experience in the use of lime and other traditional skills for the repair and conservation of historic buildings;

To promote and further the preservation and development of traditional crafts and skills.

The main activities of the Scottish Lime Centre are:

Traditional skills training: practical courses aimed at all levels covering a wide range of traditional materials and techniques, designed to enhance craft skills and awareness;

Building advisory service: professional and technical consultancy and advice provided directly to building owners or their appointed architect/surveyor;

Materials analysis: analysis and evaluation of building materials for aiding repair specifications, archaeological purposes and to identify reasons for failure;

Sands & Aggregates Database: a database holding records of currently available sands and aggregates enabling the appropriate specification for use in lime mortars and ability to match both the appearance and physical properties of a historic mortar;

Technical Publications: production of and contributions to technical publications giving information on lime and lime-based materials and their use, including commissioned Technical Advice Notes for Historic Scotland.

The Scottish Lime Centre has a multi-skilled/multi-disciplined staff and external consultants (employed for specific projects) with a broad range of experience and expertise. We work as a team in an informal, but very productive, atmosphere in our Charlestown Workshops offices which we rescued and restored under the remit of a building preservation trust.

The work of the Trust benefits from generous assistance in kind from a number of industry sources, and from our Trustees who represent a wide range of expertise in the field of building conservation and materials technology. The Trustees act as unpaid non-executive directors of the company, providing support and advice to the Directors.

The Scottish Lime Centre Trust is funded through fees for its courses and advisory work and through several small grants.

The Scottish Lime Centre Trust is accredited by the SQA (both as a training centre and, specifically, to deliver the National Units in Conservation Masonry) and is a branded Learn Direct Centre within the umbrella of the Scottish University for Industry (SUfI) and most of our training courses eligible for ILA Scotland funding.